King Charles Made a ‘Genius Move’ to Show Who’s Really in Charge of the Royal Family

Members of the royal family stepped out for the annual Easter Sunday service at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. King Charles made the appearance with his wife (formerly Camilla Parker Bowles) as well as his siblings, marking the monarch’s first public return to royal duties while undergoing cancer treatment.

In the absence of Prince William, who remained at home with the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton) and their children while the princess continues her recovery and her own cancer treatment, King Charles being there was a significant move. As a royal expert explained in doing so the family didn’t have a repeat of the last royal event in which the king and his oldest son were not there and the monarchy garnered some unwanted headlines.

Here’s more on that and what King Charles did to reaffirm he’s still the head of the family. Many fans were delighted to see King Charles during the family outing, and royal expert Jennie Bond opined that the monarch’s appearance was a genius move for two reasons. She told OK!: “I think this is a really positive sign that the king is standing up to the cancer treatment well and that his doctors must be satisfied with his progress, and I think it probably lends weight to the suggestions that he is impatient to get things back to normal.

“He’s the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, our Head of State and the head of his family — and he wants to be seen carrying out those roles. After the weeks of seeing Camilla carrying out engagements alone [it’s] reassuring to see them side by side once again. She is his best friend and his sounding board and I think he is enormously proud of how she has increased her workload during this difficult time.”

Bond said that the king being there was also a very smart move and strategic move as the last time he and the Prince of Wales missed a royal event the person leading the way for the family to the service was Prince Andrew. The disgraced Duke of York leading the other royals to the memorial service for King Constantine II of Greece sparked plenty of public backlash. As Bond noted the king’s presence “prevented a repeat of Andrew marching down to the chapel at the head of the family, rippling feathers and creating unwelcome headlines.”

Body language expert Judi James spoke to The Mirror about the monarch’s Easter appearance as well and observed a sign from the king that left no question who the head of the family is, explaining: “With the rest of his family arriving wearing rather choreographed-looking smiles of resilience and an almost carefree air, Charles appeared with his own body language suggesting he is still very much head of the Firm and head of his family.”

She continued: “The royals tend to offer continuity and a reassuring lack of change to the nation and this was still the message from the king’s body language today. Charles’s shoulders might have looked a little more hunched than usual and his face is slimmer but his body language signals were all about upbeat good humour and even enthusiasm and energy.

“Coming out of the chapel, Charles rubbed his hands together in a gesture of anticipation although he also rubbed his signet ring in what looked more like a self-motivating self-comfort ritual. He placed one hand in his pocket but the way he pointed to steer Camilla to take the flowers from waiting children showed he is still very much in charge as king.”